Synopsis

"Sheryl, Nero, Elly, and Cordelia are the most popular students at Holmes Detective Academy, because of the many cases they've solved with their Toys and teamwork. The students and the people of the Detective City Yokohama all look up to the members of "Milky Holmes", as they're called. But on a dark and stormy night, during a battle with their rivals "The Gentlemen Thief Empire", they lose their toys, and their fate undergoes a dramatic change..."

In the near future, in a world tarnished by lawlessness and disorder, exists an elite detective agency known as Milky Holmes. Represented by four talented young girls, the agency exists to fight against those that threaten the people's security. Through their struggles to preserve peace is a courageous, poignant story of mystery and betrayal...

Wait, none of that has anything to do with Milky Holmes. Let's try again.

For Sheryl, Cordelia, Elly and Nero, any shred of courage and talent is tossed aside within five minutes of the first episode. After losing their supernatural abilities— "Toys", the once-esteemed detectives devolve into a group of scatterbrains miserably failing at every single thing that they set out to do. Bear attacking them in the forest? They try to befriend it. An antagonist's identity revealed in front of them? They assume it is cosplay. Between their innumerable failures, one inevitably starts to wonder if they would be more at home in a mental hospital rather than a detective academy.

It's easy to recognize the four girls due to their colorful designs. Sheryl stands as your typical happy-go-lucky protagonist, characterized by her circular pigtails and massive hair bow that somehow outsizes her entire head. On the other hand, you have Cordelia, the equivocally 'mature' member of the group who frequently falls into hysteric outbursts. There is also Nero, an energetic tomboy, and Elly, a timid girl who speaks so little that you'd confuse her as being mute. Generic it is, but the girls are made to stand out as a group more so than as individuals. This is not an anime about Sheryl, but an anime about Milky Holmes.

Rather, the side characters are where the show shines. Serving as the series' antagonist is the Gentlemen Thieves, a four member criminal organization led by Arsène and her enormous bosom. As a long-term rival to Milky Holmes, they more or less function as the show's equivalent to Team Rocket. In almost every episode, the two are involved in some sort of inane conflict with each other. The best part is the character "Twenty", a man wearing a monocle and top hat who frequently rips his shirt off, screams to the heavens about his beauty, and runs around exposing his erect nipples to everybody in sight. Yes, seriously.

There is also a third group named the Genius 4, a police unit which continually finds themselves pulled in between the nonsense of Milky Holmes and their rivals. The only character of note here is its leader Kokoro, a self-professed child genius with an IQ of >1300. When not gloating about her questionable intellect, Kokoro is usually seen fulfilling her sadistic urges by manipulating the members of Milky Holmes, for often amusing and occasionally depressing results. It's a shame that so few episodes see her with any significant screen time, given that she's the most entertaining of the female characters.

One of the more unique aspects of the series is that it is an homage to the detective genre. Blatant references to famous fictional detectives exist within the names of nearly every character (Sherlock Holmes, Nero Wolfe), while common conventions of the genre are frequently parodied through the idiocy of the characters. Fans of the genre will undoubtedly find some level of amusement in all the references.

Though do not expect mystery from Milky Holmes. There is none to be found here, aside from deep philosophical questions like how much damage the characters have received to their brain. Even the conflicts are resolved through supernatural powers and violence rather than any sort of reasoning or detective work.

But that is the point of Milky Holmes. It is intentionally stupid. It's a comedy anime that does not waste unnecessary time on character and story development, nor does it pretend to be witty highbrow entertainment. It is easy, simple humor revolving around the exploits of Dumb and Dumber— compounded with a cast of excessively cute girls. Milky Holmes does an excellent job being what it is, but those who find this sort of comedy appalling would be advised to set their eyeballs in the other direction. You won't be missing a whole lot.

Occasionally the show does attempt to focus on its story, to largely dreadful results. The sudden dramatic tone makes for an uncomfortable and incongruous transition, taking away from the inherent appeal of the series. If everything after the first episode is filled with absurd humor, how is the viewer supposed to care when the story comes back at the end? Perhaps it may have been better with no plot at all. Still, the climactic fight in the final episode was a surprisingly pleasant conclusion to the season. There's a neatly animated battle scene with Sheryl using her wits and power (for the first time), and in the last minutes we are treated with a very Milky Holmes-esque twist to the story. In other words, it is immensely silly. And flagrantly stupid.

The art fidelity leaves much to be desired, but there isn't much to complain in terms of visual style. Character designs are colorful and appealing while the backgrounds employ a unique crayon-drawn aesthetic. Often though, you will see off-model faces and strange proportions in between important scenes. It's quite jarring and could easily be alleviated through a larger budget.

Music is not Milky Holmes' forte, but the excellent OP compensates for the forgettable score. It captures the charm of the anime and serves as a nice little treat before each episode begins. Adding to this is a solid cast of seiyuu who do a commendable job at making the comedic lines actually work. There's nothing worse than a comedy performed by lifeless actors, and thankfully Milky Holmes is in complete contrast to that.

This is the kind of anime that only comes around every once in a while. For a medium where manzai humor and cliches are predominant, a title such as Milky Holmes almost seems alien. There's a certain charm to be found here, and if you can forgive the glaring flaws of the anime you will most likely be in for an enjoyable ride. Assuming of course, that you are not offended by protruding nipples and utter stupidity.

I think that some people didn't know what exactly to expect from the series when they first went into it. Goodness knows I was expecting something else. My review is going to hopefully clear up some things for people, before they even pick up the Anime, because I garantee, some people aren't going to be happy with it.

Story: (3+9)/2=6

I have a ligitimate reason for giving the story an odd two part rating. In my case, it has to deal with the fact that from the summary I read, I was expecting something that was cute, innocent, almost like a brand new take on an old Anime, CLAMP Gaukuen Tanteidan. As a mystery buff, I expected something series, with a mystery every episode.

I didn't get that. Well, I got the whole cute thing, but this anime is like a fangirl writing fanfiction who has an interesting summary and then you find out that they are rabid, but not that they are a bad writer, just that they're... *cough* a little bit perverted in their writing, causing you to hit your head against the desk. Truth be told, these types that ARE actually well written are rare.

As for the seriousness... there is none. It is completly comediec. You don't get any major mysteries in this series, it is more along the lines of adventure. Actually, I really have to question how these girls even became detectives. It is almost as if they are trying to parody and poke fun of the Mystery genera, in how the detectives always solve the cases. It is rather interesting in that regaurd.

Art: 8

The art work is nice and crisp, the colors bright making one thinking it is a simple, happy go lucky children's Anime. Particularly if you haven't seen any clips that show the more... well, the moments that push it in some people's minds. Typically, I say that panty-shots (that's what I call them, though in this one there aren't really any shots of panties) aren't needed in most storylines to make it a good storyline. It's just there to attract people in.

Well, with the way it is cut down later on, I think it did in fact use panty shots to draw a certain crowd in, but the humour and shots actually do add to the storyline. I think it has to do with how the characters are protrayed in the series, which I will get to later.

Sound: 10

Sound is not my fortay, but I felt it was nice and I liked the opening and closing. Actually, I was laughing at some of the sound effects.

Character: (6+10)/2=8

I have another split rating here. Why? Well, obviously I was expecting smart detectives, but I ended up with some really dumb characters. All of the detetives are... well, as one character says... they are retarded. Their words, not mine. And then the bad guys... I have to slap my forehead, as they aren't bad guys. They're... well, for the most part brighter then the detectives, but they are also... nicer then how the girls start out. I say that because the girls were spoiled brats. Even with being parodic, the character have problems.

Enjoyment: (4+10)/2=7

I wanted something else really, so in that regaurd I was rather disapointed. But what I got... completly unexpected really. I got a story that was... I love parody, I love satire, and I can't help but look at this as a MAJOR comedic parody of the Detective Genera. And it pokes fun of the 'panty-shots' other Anime put in.

Overall: (6+8+10+8+7)/5=7.8

Truth of the matter is, if you don't know what you are going in for, it is... or could be a major disapointment. It isn't a bad Anime though... simply... different is the best word for it.read more

OK first of all, before you pick up this series, throw every expectation out of the window! Literally!
Here's the most common perception people have on this anime;
-"Oh god, It's another lolicon's anime!"
Well, that's my first perception on it, but I can assure you, only the opening looks lolicon-ish. The rest of the show doesn't really promote pedophilia. How can you when the main villain of this series has gigantic b**b!

-"Wow! A mystery anime! Finally I get to watch something else other than Detective Conan!"
Once again, throw away that perception. Did the title say Detective Holmes? No. Unlike Detective Conan, it's clearly not stated it's a detective show. Closest you'll get to them solving a case is almost to nil. The only mystery here is how they lost their powers and will they ever get it back.

-"Wow! An anime about cute little girls with superpowers!"
What do you think this is? The Powerpuff girls? Once again, No. I dont wan't to give any spoilers here but I can tell you, most of the time in the show isn't about special powers. Do not expect Alice Academy here.

Other than that, if you gotten rid of all those three widely mistaken perception and just think of it as a comedy based anime, then im sure you'll be greatly entertained.

Their stupidity and plain randomness is enough to leave your face bruises all over (Due to the excessive face-palm) Not to mention, throw in a narcissistic teacher, and you have the complete recipe for pure random comedy.
Not to mention throw in a few panty shots.

The art is pretty well done, it compliments the cheery and positive outlook the character have on their life, despite the misery it comes along for everyone else.
Sound was exceptionally done. I especially love the sound effect you get when their toys are activated.
Each character has their own unique personality, you wont find 2 or more characters in this anime with the same personality. However, be prepared for some cliche characters especially for the villain side.

Moreover, this anime is enjoyable for every age group.. Yes, that means you too you lolicons! You would probably enjoy re watching all those funny moments of the narcissistic and all of this antics.

Overall it is quite a unique and hilarious anime if you discard all your expectation. Come in with nothing, come out bursting with laughter (and bruises on your face) On one condition that you survived watching the first few episodes. (Im sorry to say but the action and comedy picked up midway through the anime, so does the fanservice bit)

And there you have it,
Haremu Kingu, signing off!

[EDITED]
I reduced the story score a bit because I've played the visual novel and realize they removed the main character just like what they did in Koihime and Galaxy Angel.
The visual novel actually has a story and the anime just screwed it up

SAO just like Milky holmes is a psychological delicacy that is undermined within the mainstream media as being a moe trash piece of garbage which when in fact it is really a genre defining academic text which would drive the most literally minded academics insane over the deep and complex issues conveyed of perpetual identity, symbolic relational symbolism, alternative character constructions and exploration through modern sociological issues within the show not to mention the ground breaking visuals which would send the most post modern shaft style shows to shame.

Honestly i could spend hours unravelling and discussing the deep psychophysical themes of Tantei Opera Milky Holmes and in the perfect world i would but simply if you cannot objective agree that Tantei Opera Milky Holmes is a shining light among the generic money-pinching crap of contemporary modern anime-visuals and objectively deserves nothing less then a masterpiece 10/10 ranking you then have considerably shit taste and i feel for you.read more

Recent Featured Articles

Celebrating anime birthdays is the perfect way to cross the boundary between reality and fiction. But what about your special day? How wonderful would it be if you could celebrate your birthday with a lovely character who shares it? Come meet your anime soulmate!